NASI KANDAR LINE CLEAR
A 24-hour joint that merits the number two spot only because Line Clear Nasi Kandar’s food tempts us with its ‘limited-time’ offerings. Line Clear is located in a narrow alleyway along Jalan Penang, with wooden tables and chairs, slightly near open drains.
Don’t let that put you off though! In all honesty the food here is phenomenal and the fact that you only pay RM6.50 (the cheapest in all of Penang) for a plate of rice, fried chicken, telur dadar (sunny side up omelette), vegetables and ‘kuah banjir’ (a mix of gravies), makes the whole meal that much more satisfying.
There is an impressive amount of hype about their daily specials (ranging from fish curry to beef gravy) and the extensive praise is clearly warranted. Adding to the whole value-for-money aspect of Line Clear Nasi Kandar is the fact that the food served comes in generous portions.
Opening Hours: 24 Hours
Address: 177 Penang Road, Penang
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Dalai Lama
PASEMBUR BUBOH
Rojak pasembur is a dish of cool cucumber slivers, crunchy bean sprouts, fat squares of tofu, turnip shreds, chunks of hardboiled egg and crispy prawn cracker crusts, drizzled with thick, spicy and nutty gravy. In some versions, there is even the addition of seafood, such as octopus rings. What makes the dish messy is the fact that it is presented on a plate with the ingredients heaped up mountain-style, then the sauce is generously poured over it – you then have to artfully skewer pieces to eat with a wooden stick.
Where to Get It: Thoroughly satisfying, the gravy binds all of it together creating a dish that is at once, sweet, sour, spicy, juicy and savoury. Locals, both residents of Penang Island and mainlanders from as far away as Kuala Lumpur, will likely point you in the direction of Gurney Drive to the stall called GP Soon, for the best rojak pasembur (RM7 for a serving) on the island.
Opening Hours: 21:30 – late weekends
Address: GP Soon, Gurney Drive Hawker Centre, 172 Persiaran Gurney
LAKSA PENANG
A popular glass noodle dish with a spicy, mackerel-fish based broth which has sour undertones, assam laksa is a traditional Peranakan dish popular all over the island. The yummy soup is made by stewing poached mackerel along with tamarind juice, shrimp paste, cucumber slivers and bird’s eye chillies.
Where to Get it: While some stalls produce bowls with soup that is lighter and less jam-packed with fishy flavour, our favourite can be found at the Ayer Itam Market, where you will find that the broth has a bold, thick texture, with whiffs of lemongrass evident and a slightly sweet aftertaste. Outside seating provides diners with a chance to see life going on nearby. A bowl costs only RM3.50, but be warned that this place sees a lot of local diners during lunch hours between 12:30 to 2:00pm, so it's worth trying to avoid these hours.
Opening Hours: 11:15 – 19:30
Location: Ayer Itam Market
HOKKIEN MEE
In the Kuala Lumpur city centre, hokkien mee is classified as a dish of fat yellow noodles in a thick black soy sauce but in Penang hokkien mee (also known as hae me) is a prawn-based, spicy broth noodle dish. Originally a Chinese specialty, the broth is thin yet flavour-packed, made from stewing dried prawns, prawn heads, garlic and other spices. The soup in imbued with even more flavour by the addition of pork slices, fish cake slivers, bean sprouts, crispy deep fried shallots and a red chilli paste. Though largely spicy, with a savoury streak, there is an underlying sweetness to the soup, thus making it such a favourite with travellers.
Where to Get It: Diners can request fat yellow noodles, thin vermicelli rice noodles or even flat rice noodles with their broth. Our favourite stall in Penang which serves up a mouth-watering version of this dish is 888 Hokkien Mee, located along Lebuh Presgrave in Georgetown, which is priced at RM3.50 for a basic bowl. We love the fact that you can add on ingredients such as fish balls, and more for RM0.60 each.
Opening Hours: 17:30 – 23:45 Friday – Wednesday
Location: Presgrave Street Hawker Centre Lebuh Presgrave
CHAR KUEY TEOW
When it comes to Penang food, there is no more famous dish than char koay teow. Sometimes called fried kway teow, it is a dish of flat rice noodles, stir fried in a charcoal-fired wok with fat supple prawns, cockles, scrambled egg, crunchy bean sprouts, strips of fish cake and chilli paste.
Where to Get It: Penang has a number of great char koay teow stalls but our favourite is Tiger char koay teow, since they use duck eggs instead of chicken eggs, which results in a creamier flavour, as well as the addition of bamboo clams. Located in Kafe Ping Hooi at the intersection of Lebuh Canarvon and Lebuh Melayu, it is really worth a visit for this unique interpretation of the RM5 plateful.
Opening Hours: 08:00 – 19:00
Address: Kafe Ping Hooi, intersection of Lebuh Canarvon and Lebuh Melayu
CENDOL PULUT
After diving headfirst into all those chilli-infused local dishes, it is good to know that Penang’s also famous for a sweet, icy dessert that will help cool the fire to your taste buds. Known as cendol or chendul, each bowl is made up of coconut milk, pandan-flavoured green rice flour jelly noodles and brown sugar poured over a heaping of shaved ice.
Where to Get It: At some stalls you will find the addition of red beans, glutinous rice and creamed corn but our favourite place serves up the traditional teochew version (RM1.50) which locals call the Penang Road Famous Chendul. In operation since the 1950s’, it is located at the stall right beside Jooi Hooi Café on Jalan Penang.
Opening Hours: 10:30 – 19:00 Monday – Friday; 10:00 – 19:30 Saturday & Sunday
Address: 27 & 29, Lebuh Keng Kwee (beside Jooi Hooi Café, off Jalan Penang)
